Tips to Create a Winning Branded Content Marketing Strategy

Branded content marketing is more than just promotional marketing material. It creates an immersive experience for the consumer with the purpose of informing or entertaining them rather than having a direct commercial intent.

Some brands create sitcoms, short films and documentaries as part of their content marketing strategy. A brilliant example of this is the web series titled “I Can You Can” by BBC Worldwide India. This was part of Nicotex’s campaign on anti-smoking. Content marketing in the form of personal stories really hits the mind and heart.

A major theme that runs through such content is that of brand humanisation. People like to seek the advice of those they already trust, and such content helps to gain that trust.

In this article, we give you tips on how to create a winning branded content media strategy.

Tip 1: Know Your Goals and Objectives

What is the purpose of the content marketing of your brand and what do you hope to achieve? These are some questions you must ask yourself. Is the primary purpose of increasing the subscribers to your blog/newsletter, is it to update your mailing list, increase your Twitter followers, or something else altogether?

Make sure you brainstorm over the objectives of your content marketing before you start working on your strategy.

Tip 2: Do Not Directly Advertise Your Product/Service

 You have to market your brand indirectly to be able to effectively appeal to the humane side of your consumer. The key here is to be subtle and focus on awareness rather than conversion at this stage.

While this may seem completely contradictory to the point of marketing your brand, but it works. Even if your brand itself is barely visible throughout the advertisement, it can be a success.

For example, if you have a business that deals in kitchen appliances, you can have a story about a person who wins a cooking competition, or you can have good recipes as part of your content.

Tip 3: Keep Your Content Personalised and Individualised

This involves knowing the demographics of your audience — how old are they? What is their gender? What occupations do they hold? What motivates them to buy?

You will have to tweak your content on the basis of who you are targeting. You should also be well researched about the values, attitudes and beliefs of your audience. Do not be shy to use your own personal experience and gut.

Tip 4: Be Authentic and Honest

Your brand strategy should be consistent with your brand personality, your own values and those of your team. If that is not the case, your deception will come across in your content. You should genuinely want to engage your customers out with your content.

 Tip 5: Develop a Brand Voice

This is what’s referred to as a Unique Value Proposition by marketers and refers to those aspects that differentiate you from other brands and your competition.

You should think about what makes your brand unique. It could be the story of how or why your company started or a funny anecdote. While it may seem like something you think won’t be relevant to customers and their agenda, it helps to humanise your organisation and bring your essence to the forefront.

Tip 6: Diversify Across Social Media Platforms and Do Not Be Afraid To Experiment

Firstly, make sure your content is shareable on social media. Diversify your content across different platforms. While Twitter and Instagram might work for some of your products, Facebook might be perfect for another.

Follow these steps to have a winning strategy for your brand. Make sure that above all, you are honest and passionate about the content that you are creating and marketing.